Make The Most of Your Retirement Travel

You spent your whole life working hard to give yourself a comfortable, enjoyable retirement. One filled with travel, leisure, seeing the world and all it has to offer. Now that you’re finally ready to take on the trip of a lifetime, don’t leave without taking these crucial, but often overlooked, steps for travel-success.

Alert your bank and credit card companies

The last thing you want in a foreign country is to have your credit cards declined because you forgot to let the company know you were traveling abroad. In this age of advanced cyber-security, credit card companies and financial institutions have gotten overprotective when it comes to suspicious activity. Particularly for random purchases made outside your home country.

To avoid this major hassle, take a few minutes to give each one a call and let them know the dates of your travel and which countries you plan to visit during that time. Some will even let you do this through your online banking account in just a few easy steps. Include your regular banking accounts in this precaution so you don’t arrive home from a fantastic vacation only to find out you were charged a small fee on every purchase you made with your debit card in a foreign country.

Check your cell phone plan coverage

Roaming and data charges can be a major blow to the wallet in a foreign country. If you plan to use your cell phone as a GPS because you don’t want to carry around a map around, or can’t read the street signs in the local language, the charges are going to rack up quick. And planning your whole trip around finding coffee shops and restaurants with free wifi can be quite restrictive when you’re just trying to enjoy your vacation.

Check with your service provider to see if they offer any temporary travel plans, or a permanent one if you plan to travel outside the country frequently. If you can’t find anything you’re happy with through them, consider buying a prepaid cell phone and keep refilling the minutes and data as needed.

Finally, don’t leave the country without considering all of your insurance coverages. No one plans to have an emergency or need to cancel certain arrangements while they’re travelling, but these things happen and are often out of our control.

Travel insurance is a great way to protect against cancellation costs when plans need to be rearranged. If your health insurance doesn’t cover medical emergencies outside the country, be sure to look into Medicare Supplement Plans to make sure you’re covered while you travel. Nothing’s more important than having the right medical care when you’re abroad.

Traveling during retirement should be some of the most enjoyable experiences of your life. Make sure you’re making the most out of them and don’t overlook these important travel tips.